Lessons on Looking Good
Learning from an Expert Makeup Artist
In “Middle Age is the New Adolescence,” I described my difficulties with applying makeup in a way that looks good now that I’ve reached an age where my skin and features seem to be changing. The make-up habits I had developed didn’t seem to work well anymore. I asked for advice from friends, from Reddit, from Google, and ultimately I decided to schedule a make-up lesson with a professional. After a Google search for make-up artists who offer remote lessons, I connected with Chris Scott of Makeup Gourmet and scheduled my first virtual Zoom makeup lesson.
At the appointed time, I made sure I had good lighting, set up my laptop in the bathroom near my makeup mirror, and laid all my make-up on the counter. I was nervous. How would this work? Could he really see what I was doing and instruct me through Zoom?
Chris and I chatted for a bit and he shared that he has defined a tried-and-true formula for applying makeup that anyone can use with minor modifications every day — for casual fun, work, and formal occasions. This was just what I was looking for! I needed something that I knew would reliably look good every time.
Once he explained a little about himself and his approach, we dove into the tutorial. It was immediately clear that in his 30 years of doing makeup for…
